May 22, 2015 – Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

Reflection for the DayWhen I first listened to people in The Program talking freely and honestly about themselves, I was stunned. Their stories of their own addictive escapades, of their own secret fears and of their own gnawing loneliness were literally mind-blowing for me. I discovered – and hardly dared believe it at first – that I’m not alone. I’m not all that different from everybody else and, in fact, we’re all very much the same. I began to sense that I do belong somewhere, and my loneliness began to leave me.

Do I try to give to others what has been given freely to me?

Today I PrayMay I begin to see, as the life stories of my friends in The Program unfold for me, that our similarities are far more startling than our differences. As I listen to their accounts of addiction and recovery, may I experience often that small shock of recognition, a “hey-that’s-me!” feeling that is quick to chase away my separateness. May I become a wholehearted member of the group, giving and taking in equal parts.